Notifications on direct appointments stayed

CHANDIGARH, Feb 22: Admitting a writ petition, a division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court here stayed the operation of notifications issued by the Haryana Government reducing the quota of direct recruits in the appointment to Superior Judicial Service.

In the petition, three advocates Dr. Attar Singh Kalkal, Ram Avtar Sheoran and Adarsh Paul Kaur Rana had sought the striking down of the notifications, 8220;unilaterally reducing quota or the service without consultation or consent of the High Court, being violative of the provisions of the Constitution of India.8221; The petitioners had also sought directions to the Haryana government and the state of Punjab to fix the quota of direct recruits and promotees to the said service in the ratio of 60 : 40, or such other ratio as may be determined by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The Haryana government had earlier reduced the quota of direct recruits from 33 per cent 25 vide a notification dated March 6, 1991. The quota was further reduced from 25 per cent to 15 per cent vide another notification dated September 19, 1997.